SAINT LEO, Fla.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams hit the halfway point of the 2022 season on Saturday, competing in their third race of the season at the Saint Leo Abbey Invitational, hosted on the Abbey Golf Course by Saint Leo University. The Gyrene women nearly ended up on the podium with a fourth place finish, while the Gyrene men placed seventh, albeit first among the four NAIA schools in the event.
Theresa Long continued her reign as Ave Maria's top finisher, placing fourth among the 115 finishers. The Virginia native was one of just eleven runners to complete the St. Leo course in less than 20 minutes, crossing the finish line in 19:03.90 to lead the Gyrenes. Ave Maria's number two finisher was Felicity Foxhoven, who put together a top-15 finish. The freshman ran the 5k course in 20:32.31, third among runners not from NCAA Division II schools.
Third among the Gyrenes was Lily Burke, who was the last of 23 runners to break the 21-minute mark at 20:55.74. Ave Maria's team score was rounded out by Gabrielle Sjostedt (21:12.16) and Maria Talafuse (21:59.52). The Gyrenes finished in a virtual tie for third with host St. Leo, with Embry-Riddle and Tampa taking the top two spots. The individual champ was Saint Leo's Paige Patterson, who crossed the finish line with a time of 18:29.17.
On the men's side, Ave Maria was led by Adam Paga, who crossed the finish line at 27:58.19. Joseph Perreault and Samuel Paga rounded out Ave Maria's top three finishers, finishing within ten seconds of one another. Perreault recorded a time of 28:26.61, while the younger Paga sibling logged a time of 28:34.16.
Christopher Hermann added to the Ave Maria team score with a time of 29:40.47, fourth among the Gyrenes. Jackson Pope was the final Gyrene to contribute to the team score with a time of 29:57.61, while John and James Halvorsen came in just seconds behind Pope. The Gyrenes were the best of the four NAIA teams in the event, placing well above Florida College, Webber, and Keiser. The team champion was Embry-Riddle, while the Eagles' Paul Kraemer earned the individual title by more than four seconds.
After running in each of the past two weekends, the Gyrenes will get next weekend off before returning to competition. Ave Maria's next event will be the Queens University Royals Challenge, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday, October 7. Competition in AMU's fourth race of the season is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. on the first Friday of October.
